Embiid leads 76ers past Pacers
76ers 131, Pacers 122: Joel Embiid had 45 points and 13 rebounds, and visiting Philadelphia made a franchiserecord 17 3-pointers in the first half of a victory over Indiana on Tuesday night that moved them into a tie with Boston atop the Atlantic Division.
Embiid banked in a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer and shot 18 for 30 overall while moving into the NBA scoring lead with 30.4 points per game. He had 27 points and seven rebounds in the first half, helping Philadelphia take control with a 49-point second quarter that led to an 82-59 halftime lead.
Buddy Hield scored 25 points and Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Indiana, which has lost a season-worst eight in a row.
Magic 120, Cavaliers 115: Mo Bamba had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Ignas Brazdeikis scored 20 off the bench and host Orlando beat Cleveland to stop a six-game losing streak.
Moritz Wagner scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter for the Magic.
Darius Garland had 27 points and 10 assists, and Lauri Markkanen added 25 points for the injury-riddled Cavaliers, who have dropped eight of 10. Cleveland is trying to hold onto seventh place in the Eastern Conference with two regular-season games remaining.
Raptors 118, Hawks 108: Pascal Siakam had 31 points and 13 rebounds, Scottie Barnes added 19 points and 14 rebounds, and host Toronto clinched a playoff berth by beating Atlanta.
Chris Boucher scored 18 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 14, Fred Vanvleet 12 and Precious Achiuwa 11. Toronto has won 12 of 16. This victory, coupled with Cleveland’s loss at Orlando, ensured the Raptors (46-33) will finish no lower than sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Trae Young had 26 points and 15 assists for the Hawks, who lost for the first time in six games and locked themselves into a play-in berth.
Nets 118, Rockets 105: Kyrie Irving scored 42 points and host Brooklyn beat Houston to improve their position in the race for play-in seeding.
Irving had 17 points in the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant added 18 points, Bruce Brown had 15 and Cam Thomas 13 for the Nets. Andre Drummond finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Kevin Porter Jr scored a season-high 36 points and Jalen Green added 30 for the Rockets.
Hornets 144, Heat 115: Tyler Herro scored 35 points off the bench and host Miami moved closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a victory over Charlotte.
Miami won its fifth straight and posted the second-highest point total in franchise history, while Charlotte allowed 144 for the second consecutive game after a 144-112 loss Saturday at Philadelphia.
Jimmy Butler added 27 points, Bam Adebayo had 22 and Duncan Robinson broke out of a recent scoring slump with 21 points for the Heat, who need to win one of their two remaining games to secure the top spot in the East.
Thunder 98, Trail Blazers 94: Jaylen Hoard had career highs of 24 points and 21 rebounds to help host Oklahoma City top Portland.
Isaiah Roby had 18 points and a career-high six steals, Greg Kalaitzakis scored 17 points and Olivier Sarr had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder. Oklahoma City improved to 4-0 against the Trail Blazers this season.
Keon Johnson scored 18 points and Greg Brown III and Ben Mclemore each had 17 for Portland, which lost its eighth straight.
Wizards 132, Timberwolves 114: Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points, including 12 in the third quarter as visiting Washington took control and pulled away for a win against Minnesota.
Karl-anthony Towns had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, while D’angelo Russell finished with 17 points and 11 assists.
Bucks 127, Bulls 106: Brook Lopez scored a season-high 28 points and visiting Milwaukee overcame a rather quiet performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo to clinch its fourth straight Central Division championship with a victory over Chicago.
The defending NBA champion Bucks haven’t been on a run like this since Don Nelson’s teams won seven consecutive division titles in the 1980s.
Jazz 121, Grizzlies 115 (OT): Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 21 rebounds, and host Utah clinched a playoff berth by beating Memphis in overtime.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 for the Grizzlies. Tyus Jones added 24 points and Desmond Bane had 23 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Pelicans 123, Kings 109: CJ Mccollum and Jaxson Hayes each scored 23 points and visiting New Orleans secured a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament by beating Sacramento.
Damian Jones had 22 points the Kings, eliminated from playoff contention Sunday for an Nba-record 16th consecutive season.
Spurs 116, Nuggets 97: Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each scored 20 points to help visiting San Antonio move closer to securing a spot in the play-in tournament by defeating Denver.
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic had 41 points and 17 rebounds for the Nuggets, who had a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win after Minnesota lost to Washington.
Suns 121, Lakers 110: Devin Booker scored 32 points and host Phoenix won its franchise-record 63rd game of the season, beating a Lakers team minus Lebron James to eliminate Los Angeles from the playoff race.
Playing without James for a second consecutive game because of a sprained ankle, Los Angeles lost its seventh straight. Russell Westbrook scored 28 points while Anthony Davis added 21 points and 13 rebounds.